BlizzCon ticket demand griefs site

BlizzCon 2008 ticket sales have been temporarily taken offline while Blizzard alters the website to handle outrageous consumer demand for the event.

The revered developer will be tinkering throughout most of the day, and expects service to be resumed sometime later this afternoon.

Tickets for the October event in California originally went on sale yesterday, but fell under such strain from would-be attendees that everything broke.

BlizzCon is an enormous event where fans dress as Blizzard game characters and celebrate enormous franchises such as Warcraft, Diablo, and StarCraft.

This year should prove particularly interesting, with Diablo III, World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King and StarCraft II all in development.

Tickets cost USD 100 (GBP 50), and those attending will get goody bags stuffed with either an inflatable Paladin divine shield ball (an intensely irritating spell in World of Warcraft), or a huge inflatable Frostmourne sword (the blade of Arthas, the Lich King in question).

The bags will also be stuffed with various other bits, such as themed stress balls, Pandaren bottle openers, and more.

Alluring for World of Warcraft players will be an exclusive polar bear mount complete with murloc co-rider that waves a BlizzCon flag.